Chapter 17
Starting with knowledge of where the forest center was located was quite an advantage.
Those with relatively sharp minds would realize that where they originally stood was the center, but unlike Acel, this wouldn't be of much benefit to them.
The southern forest of the academy. This land mass was an artificial ecosystem created solely for the entrance exam, and its size was unimaginably vast. Finding the center without a map after being randomly thrown into such a place would be extremely difficult. They wouldn't even know where they were standing to begin with.
In contrast, Acel started at the center. No matter which direction he went, finding his way would be relatively easy. Still, just in case, he laid down magic near the central location.
Crackle!!
Lightning danced above his fingers. Acel gently threw the dark blue lightning that bloomed onto a tree.
[Lightning Trace]
The lightning left a burning mark as soon as it touched the tree. Acel nodded after confirming that his magical power was heavily imbued in that trace.
By leaving magical power like this, he wouldn't have to worry about getting lost as he could just return to where he felt the magical power, even if he went far away. It was right to be thorough with insurance.
He moved his steps while igniting lightning between his fingers.
Acel headed towards the east of the forest. Sticky mud slowed his pace, and dense foliage blocked the sun. As it was still winter, a cool chill lingered low in places untouched by sunlight. Feeling this severe cold for the first time outside of Wyheim, Acel overlaid a barrier mixed with the principles of fire magic over his skin.
With this, he could gain some resistance not only to physical attacks but also to magic and the surrounding environment. Acel continued moving while observing the faint steam rising around him. After about 10 minutes had passed, he saw a form writhing in a clump of grass.
It wasn't human. Then there was only one answer.
A golem.
Acel concentrated magical power in his eyes to confirm the identity of the creature in the grass clump. As expected, a golem easily over 2 meters in size was shaking its body while curled up in a ball. Although the grass clump was quite wide, it wasn't large enough for a golem of that size to hide. It seemed to be concealing itself by compressing its body.
It appeared more intelligent than expected. Who could the golem's creator be, to be able to design something so intricate?
Curiosity welled up. But Acel suppressed his curiosity and focused on the exam. There would be other opportunities to disassemble golems. During the exam period, he needed to focus on defeating golems and taking their cores. To achieve a high score, he needed to start moving diligently now.
He quickly drew up magical power and established the spell formula in his mind. He recalled and manifested magic powerful enough to kill the golem, which hadn't yet noticed him, in one strike. A mid-level lightning-type magic followed his will and came into the world.
Crack.
The lightning that bloomed above Acel's hand raced at high speed. The lightning, shot faster than sound, drew a square around the golem and instantly formed a cube made of lightning. The golem hurriedly stood up at the overwhelming magical power surrounding it, but Acel was even faster.
[Four-Directional Lightning]
Crackle!!!
Lightning raged inside the formed cube. The golem's limbs disintegrated. The arm it stretched out to escape was shattered as soon as it touched the wall. The golem opened its mouth as if to scream, but the striking lightning shattered its neck.
Its head fell powerlessly and buried itself in the mud. Soon after, the golem's movements ceased. The only remaining form was around the heart where the core was located. Acel withdrew his magic and rummaged through the shattered golem's chest to extract the transparent core.
The amount of magical power contained in the core wasn't that impressive. The number needed to activate the device he saw earlier might be around 50.
That was quite a lot.
Not telling the required number of cores was likely done to assess the participants' judgment, reasoning, and magical power detection abilities.
"It's not such a difficult task," Acel muttered as he put the core in his backpack.
He had thought the exam difficulty would be outrageous since it was the continent's top educational institution. But it was more manageable than expected. At this rate, it didn't seem necessary to form a group. With golems that fell with one magic attack, vanguards or supporters wouldn't be very meaningful. It seemed he could easily pass on his own.
I wonder if it's the same for others.
Acel moved his steps while recalling some of the fierce faces he had seen before the exam started.
He scattered magical power around to locate golems. He moved towards them without hesitation.
***
"Damn it."
Ruhan cursed as he extracted the core from the golem's chest. The transparent core, pulled out along with stone fragments, sparkled beautifully in the light. He exhaled deeply and got down from the fallen golem's body with the core.
"Anyone seriously injured?" He asked, looking at the fallen participants around him.
Fortunately, no one was severely hurt. There were some minor injuries, but nothing too dangerous. However, it was clear that everyone was exhausted. They had just hunted their fifth golem, but the fatigue accumulated was too much compared to the harvest. The exam's difficulty was unreasonably high.
"Damn Academy. Each golem is equivalent to a skilled Expert," A young man with sharp features, Paul, spoke as if spitting out the words.
He gritted his teeth, his arm that had blocked a golem's punch once trembling with cracks.
This was too serious to be called just an exam. Each golem was equivalent to a fully-fledged Expert, and they weren't even told how many they needed to catch.
An Expert wasn't just some random passerby. They were warriors who could easily obtain fairly high positions. Breaking walls with their fists and running at speeds beyond limits was as natural as breathing for them. And they had released such monsters into the forest like real wild dogs.
Moreover, some were even ambushing from hiding. It was enough to drive one mad.
"But this might be a good harvest at this rate," a girl with ash-gray hair and golden eyes, Selina, muttered while leaning against a tree.
Coming from the Aurora Magic Tower, she had a relatively high voice within the group. Perhaps because of this, the others who had been complaining closed their mouths tightly and turned their heads towards her.
"No one knows the situation elsewhere. We might be the fastest."
"...How can you be sure of that?"
"That's not what I meant. I meant let's not get discouraged and keep doing well."
Selina retorted irritably, glaring at Borwell.
"Are you dense? Instead of muttering complaints and bringing down the mood, just shut up and rest. It's annoying."
Selina finished speaking and closed her eyes. It meant to stop talking noisily. The group showed dissatisfaction with her but quietly remained silent and caught their breath. It was natural considering the power of magic Selina had shown.
Constellation magic that handled the power of stars. Although it required quite a long warm-up time, once completed, even low-level magic could easily tear apart other types of magic of the same rank. If she hadn't appropriately shot her magic, Paul's arm wouldn't just be cracked, it would have been completely shattered.
Besides this, she had shown several achievements like crushing golem legs or smashing their heads. For the group, Selina was an indispensable talent. There were plenty of reasons to cater to her whims.
"...The sun is setting," Ruhan muttered, looking at the sky gradually turning sunset colors.
They had certainly started in the morning, but evening had already arrived. The short winter days also played a part.
Once the sun completely set, the cold would likely become even more severe. They needed to set up a campsite before it was too late. They didn't want to spend the night shivering in the cold.
They could have continued marching, but wandering through a forest teeming with golems and wild animals without light was tantamount to suicide. Moreover, many of the animals they had seen on the way seemed more nocturnal than diurnal. It would be difficult to react if they suddenly jumped out of the bushes in a tired state.
"Let's spend the night here," Ruhan said, looking at Selina.
Selina opened her closed eyes, looked at the sky once, and nodded.
"Yes, that would be better."
"We've only found 5 cores and we're resting already?"
"Shut up, Borwell. You collapsed trembling as soon as you saw a golem, and now your mouth is opening?"
Paul growled at Borwell. Selina agreed with his words.
"If you don't like it, leave. We won't stop you."
"...No, I'll help."
"Really? Then go and bring some branches and leaves. Enough for all five of us to rest."
"...Alright."
Borwell swallowed hard and left to gather branches. Selina only opened her mouth again when his back was no longer visible.
"Paul, rest since your arm is shattered. Sevia, bring some firewood from nearby and light a fire. I'll go and lay down some barrier magic around the area."
"I'll level the ground."
Selina nodded towards Ruhan and got up to prepare barrier magic spell formulas in appropriate locations.
At that moment, the sound of thunder was heard from somewhere.
Rumble!!
They frowned and looked at the sky, thinking it might rain, but there wasn't a single dark cloud in the sky. Just as Selina hardened her expression at this strange phenomenon and was about to cast a detection spell.
"Aaaaargh!"
Borwell's scream was heard from inside the forest. The group immediately stopped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons, and headed towards where the sound came from.
Soon after, they found Borwell collapsed on the ground. Ruhan and Sevia quickly approached his side.
"Borwell! What, what happened!"
"Mage...! A mage..."
He foamed at the mouth and trembled violently. Both arms were burned black, and blood was seeping from his cracked skin.
Crackle, crackle!
Dark blue electric currents flickered and disappeared repeatedly on Borwell's body. Selina realized that these currents were caused by being directly hit by magic and hardened her expression coldly.
"It's an ambush."
"What?"
Before Ruhan could react to Selina's mutter, lightning flashed from the dark forest. Immediately after, lightning shot at a speed beyond comprehension pierced straight through Borwell's shoulder blade.
[Pursuing Lightning]
Boom!!
With a loud roar, his body shook, and the bracelet activated, teleporting him to a safe place.
It was judged to be a serious injury. Selina swallowed hard, estimating the power of the lightning that had just been fired.
The vaguely felt magical power density was at least 6th rank. It was an opponent with an extreme difference for her, who was still 5th rank, to face. But she reminded herself that she wasn't alone and waited for the owner of the lightning to appear.
There was no need to wait long. As soon as she drew up her magical power, a man walked out of the darkness of the forest.
It was a familiar face.
The mage who had attracted everyone's attention upon his appearance. He revealed himself with lightning wrapped around his body. He tilted his head as he looked at the four people gathered together.
"...Are you a group?"
"...Everyone, prepare for battle."
There was no need for conversation. Ruhan said this while drawing his sword, and Paul and Sevia firmly gripped their weapons. Selina naturally retreated and chanted magic. Acel let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded by this sight.
"Attacking first and then this…? I can't believe it."
"Attacked first...?"
Selina, who had more leeway than the others due to retreating, heard Acel's mutter. She hurriedly opened her mouth to stop her companions, but Ruhan was faster. He rushed forward and swung his sword quickly.
No matter how strong, he was still a mage. Fighting a swordsman at such close range was tantamount to suicide. He wouldn't be able to chant, let alone form spell formulas. A rear guard without a vanguard was as good as defeated the moment they stepped forward.
This was common sense. A fact everyone knew and believed without doubt. That was why Ruhan aimed for Acel's shoulder without hesitation.
A simple swing with no thought of defense or evasion. Acel looked at that trajectory and flicked one finger upward from below.
That alone completed the magic.
[Rising Lightning]
Boom!!
A massive streak of lightning shot up from the ground to the sky.